Best unwalkable course?

[Jeff Schley]

This is sure to bring out the pitchforks. Unwalkable is subjective certainly and most here don't associate good with cart balling I know, however what is your best unwalkable course?  One from me is Kapalua Plantation from C&C. That is pretty steep in places and a couple long walks back to tees if you are playing from the back. Lovely scenery and actually large greens to play to.

[Brian Finn]

This is sure to bring out the pitchforks. Unwalkable is subjective certainly and most here don't associate good with cart balling I know, however what is your best unwalkable course?  One from me is Kapalua Plantation from C&C. That is pretty steep in places and a couple long walks back to tees if you are playing from the back. Lovely scenery and actually large greens to play to.

For me, the first course that always come to mind in this discussion is Pete Dye GC in West Virginia.  While I have witnessed walkers there, I would not be interested in walking this course myself.  Among my list of favorite courses, it is only one I can think of that I truly love playing but consider unwalkable.  Beyond that, I can't think of another one.  I am playing Kapalua Plantation at the end of the month, so perhaps there will soon be two on my list.

[Pete Lavallee]

Here in the greater SD area Rams Hill in the Anza Borrego desert is the likely choice. They get away with it because no one likes to walk in a desert. It would certainly be in the Top 10 of public courses in the area. It usually closes from May to October due to the heat but they installed Bermuda greens last summer and are converting the fairways to Bermuda this summer; they hope to save 30% of their water and stay open year round.

[Tom_Doak]

I have always said it might be impossible to build an unwalkable course that makes the top 100 lists, but from what I've heard Cabot St. Lucia is pretty close to unwalkable, which everyone seems to gloss over.

[Ryan Book]

"For me, the first course that always come to mind in this discussion is Pete Dye GC in West Virginia.  While I have witnessed walkers there, I would not be interested in walking this course myself.  Among my list of favorite courses, it is only one I can think of that I truly love playing but consider unwalkable.  Beyond that, I can't think of another one.  I am playing Kapalua Plantation at the end of the month, so perhaps there will soon be two on my list."


To quote the film Dodgeball, "if you can walk Pikewood National, you can walk Pete Dye."

[Ben Hollerbach]

is Nine Bridges walkable?

[Ira Fishman]

Red Sky (Norman). It is a better course than Kapalua Plantation.


Primland is walkable but it is a difficult walk. Unique and excellent course.

[Brian Finn]

"For me, the first course that always come to mind in this discussion is Pete Dye GC in West Virginia.  While I have witnessed walkers there, I would not be interested in walking this course myself.  Among my list of favorite courses, it is only one I can think of that I truly love playing but consider unwalkable.  Beyond that, I can't think of another one.  I am playing Kapalua Plantation at the end of the month, so perhaps there will soon be two on my list."

To quote the film Dodgeball, "if you can walk Pikewood National, you can walk Pete Dye."

If Pikewood is a tougher walk than PDGC then I have no interest in playing there.  I feel no compulsion to play every single course folks consider great.

Another strong course that I consider cart-required is Dismal River White.  i'm aware that it has been walked, even hundred-hole-hiked, but I would never consider walking there.  However, I'd still love to play there again.  My 4-5 rounds there during the 2014 5th Major are full of great, fun memories.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I have always said it might be impossible to build an unwalkable course that makes the top 100 lists, but from what I've heard Cabot St. Lucia is pretty close to unwalkable, which everyone seems to gloss over.

If I were fifty, I could walk CSL, but it would be a tough walk. One and ten are straight uphill.

[Jason Thurman]

"For me, the first course that always come to mind in this discussion is Pete Dye GC in West Virginia.  While I have witnessed walkers there, I would not be interested in walking this course myself.  Among my list of favorite courses, it is only one I can think of that I truly love playing but consider unwalkable.  Beyond that, I can't think of another one.  I am playing Kapalua Plantation at the end of the month, so perhaps there will soon be two on my list."


To quote the film Dodgeball, "if you can walk Pikewood National, you can walk Pete Dye."

I don't understand this one - I walked Pete Dye GC in the middle of a really hot summer day on my visit there, and it wasn't arduous. The surrounding setting is a little mountainous, but the course itself isn't especially hilly. There's a bit of a climb up to 7 tee I guess? The transitions are very compact throughout.


Pete Dye GC remains in my personal top 20. Of those, I'd compare the walk to Old MacDonald or Lancaster CC - hilly and rugged, but compact. White Bear Yacht Club might be a tougher walk than all of them thanks to its hilliness, but certainly not unwalkable.


Dismal White is the course I personally rate the highest that I would not expect to be an enjoyable walk. I've walked Landmand twice, but I'd generally consider it a cartball course - it's probably the toughest walk in my personal top 50.


Cabo Del Sol Ocean (back before they ditched the old 17 and 18) was the course that felt most held back by its lack of walkability to me. It's an undoubtedly awesome collection of holes, but it just felt like less than the sum of its parts - it lacked a certain flow for me... possibly also hampered by the very slow round.

[Brian Finn]

I don't understand this one - I walked Pete Dye GC in the middle of a really hot summer day on my visit there, and it wasn't arduous. The surrounding setting is a little mountainous, but the course itself isn't especially hilly. There's a bit of a climb up to 7 tee I guess? The transitions are very compact throughout.

Pete Dye GC remains in my personal top 20. Of those, I'd compare the walk to Old MacDonald or Lancaster CC - hilly and rugged, but compact. White Bear Yacht Club might be a tougher walk than all of them thanks to its hilliness, but certainly not unwalkable.

Every course is technically walkable.  PDGC is where I happen to draw the line.  I walk >90% of 100+ rounds per year, but if a walk seems difficult enough that it will substantially impede my enjoyment, I'm grabbing a cart.  I have a few "never cartball" friends, so I occasionally get a good read on whether my decision was warranted.   

[Bill Seitz]

I feel like Kapalua would be walkable so long as you were able to take a shuttle from 5 to 6 and 9 to 10.  Pretty sure that's what they do for the pros. Hard to call a place unwalkable that the pros routinely walk (with some help).


Greywalls felt like it would be a pretty difficult walk, but there also looked like there were some decent shortcuts that would make it a bit easier provided someone gave you a ride to the first tee. 

[Jim O’Kane]

I feel like Kapalua would be walkable so long as you were able to take a shuttle from 5 to 6 and 9 to 10.  Pretty sure that's what they do for the pros. Hard to call a place unwalkable that the pros routinely walk (with some help).


Greywalls felt like it would be a pretty difficult walk, but there also looked like there were some decent shortcuts that would make it a bit easier provided someone gave you a ride to the first tee.

Bill, hello. Out of curiosity, any relation to Nick Seitz, the SI guy who also wrote the book "Teed Off" about Dave Hill? Fantastic book.

[Matt_Cohn]

I asked ChatGPT and it put Pinehurst #2 and the Old Course in the top 10 great courses that are hard to walk, so I guess don't look for many ChatGPT contributions to GCA in the near future.

[archie_struthers]

 


As a young married man my wife asked me to play golf one day , which was out of character for her. We were on the way home from Florida and pretty close to Tanglewood (Clemmons, NC) where Trevino won the PGA in 1974.  It was early June but wicked hot when we were passing by.  She offered to play with me and I suggested it was too hot , given I was going to carry my own bag .  she said I will be alright so we made a time and off we went in the afternoon heat of 95 degrees and similar humidity.


After about 13 holes she asked me if I really thought it was fun?  I said "oh yeah this is awesome ".  She replied it's pretty hot , aren't you getting tired ?  I said no this isn't bad at all


Stubbornly she trudged on , with her Irish heritage making quit out of the question. Upon reaching the 16th hole however I grabbed her bag and carried it the rest of the way. Her golf career ended that day but our marriage has been wonderful to this day ! 

[Thomas Dai]

Shouldn’t unwalkable due to temperature be part of the consideration?
Atb

[Charlie Goerges]

Shouldn’t unwalkable due to temperature be part of the consideration?
Atb

Problem with that is almost the entire United States would be unwalkable for portions of the Summer. This past weekend it was 90°F with a 76° dew point in Minnesota. Just miserable. Not many people walking in those conditions up here no matter how flat and short the walk is.

[Pierre_C]

Ayodhya Links, if we include temperature. 

Shouldn’t unwalkable due to temperature be part of the consideration?
Atb

[archie_struthers]

 


Kapalua is a great pick , not only for the elevation changes the wb's , good one!

[Jim_Coleman]

As a young married man my wife asked me to play golf one day , which was out of character for her. We were on the way home from Florida and pretty close to Tanglewood (Clemmons, NC) where Trevino won the PGA in 1974.  It was early June but wicked hot when we were passing by.  She offered to play with me and I suggested it was too hot , given I was going to carry my own bag .  she said I will be alright so we made a time and off we went in the afternoon heat of 95 degrees and similar humidity.


After about 13 holes she asked me if I really thought it was fun?  I said "oh yeah this is awesome ".  She replied it's pretty hot , aren't you getting tired ?  I said no this isn't bad at all


Stubbornly she trudged on , with her Irish heritage making quit out of the question. Upon reaching the 16th hole however I grabbed her bag and carried it the rest of the way. Her golf career ended that day but our marriage has been wonderful to this day !

  The 3 biggest lies in public relations:
    1) “I’m leaving this job to spend more time with my family.”
    2) “I welcome this indictment to clear my name.”
    3) The golfer who completed a 95 degree day of walking golf: “It wasn’t that bad out there.”

[Joe Bausch]

As a young married man my wife asked me to play golf one day , which was out of character for her. We were on the way home from Florida and pretty close to Tanglewood (Clemmons, NC) where Trevino won the PGA in 1974.  It was early June but wicked hot when we were passing by.  She offered to play with me and I suggested it was too hot , given I was going to carry my own bag .  she said I will be alright so we made a time and off we went in the afternoon heat of 95 degrees and similar humidity.


After about 13 holes she asked me if I really thought it was fun?  I said "oh yeah this is awesome ".  She replied it's pretty hot , aren't you getting tired ?  I said no this isn't bad at all


Stubbornly she trudged on , with her Irish heritage making quit out of the question. Upon reaching the 16th hole however I grabbed her bag and carried it the rest of the way. Her golf career ended that day but our marriage has been wonderful to this day !

  The 3 biggest lies in public relations:
    1) “I’m leaving this job to spend more time with my family.”
    2) “I welcome this indictment to clear my name.”
    3) The golfer who completed a 95 degree day of walking golf: “It wasn’t that bad out there.”

I’m going to look for a Star in the East: this is likely the first post from JC that I’m not orthogonal.

[Bill Seitz]

I feel like Kapalua would be walkable so long as you were able to take a shuttle from 5 to 6 and 9 to 10.  Pretty sure that's what they do for the pros. Hard to call a place unwalkable that the pros routinely walk (with some help).


Greywalls felt like it would be a pretty difficult walk, but there also looked like there were some decent shortcuts that would make it a bit easier provided someone gave you a ride to the first tee.

Bill, hello. Out of curiosity, any relation to Nick Seitz, the SI guy who also wrote the book "Teed Off" about Dave Hill? Fantastic book.

Hi Jim.  No relation.  It seems like I have one of those last names where everyone knows or knows of almost exactly one Seitz, so it's not altogether uncommon, but uncommon enough that I often get asked if I'm related to the one other Seitz they know.  I do have a picture of myself standing next to his parking space at Augusta, though. 

[astavrides]

Red Sky (Norman). It is a better course than Kapalua Plantation.

Wait, what??

[Pete_Pittock]

Lakota Links (Lakota Canyon) in Colorado (Engh)
Sagebrush in British Columbia (Zokol/Whitten)

[DFarron]

Chambers Bay in warm to hot weather.


I walked it in 55 degrees and over cast and thought I wouldn’t make it and I had a caddie …..